Platform

Changing times and a growing economy demand elected officials who are forward thinking, fiscally responsible, and place a priority on public safety. KWARG is committed to working toward resolution of the following issues for the betterment of all Kansans.

EFFICIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT

Measures toward efficiency and accountability

Unchecked and duplicated spending is a misuse of valuable taxpayer dollars. State government should be accountable to taxpayers for the use of public money.

• We advocate a volunteer commission be formed to seek out and eliminate government duplication and other forms of waste.

• To form this commission, business professionals will be asked to donate their time.

• The commission will be in place for a maximum of one year and will be chaired by the Lt. Governor.

Smaller government

Since elected officials are stewards of taxpayer money, we expect our governor and legislature to embrace a philosophy of reducing the size and burden of government.

• We advocate that our elected officials explore private sector alternatives to government bureaucracy, thereby reducing the size and scope of government.

• We ask our Governor and Legislators to commit to both zero-percent government growth and no tax increase.

EDUCATION FUNDING

Financial formula

The state should have clearly defined educational priorities, and a budget flexible enough to fully fund educational basics.

• We ask that the Governor and Legislature commit to develop a new, more flexible finance formula that fully funds the learning needs of all Kansas schools.

• We advocate that State monies are to be spent based upon the needs of the schools to achieve a sound core curriculum, special education and teachers’ salaries.

• We support the right of individual school districts to further fund additional projects and activities.

• We support standardized reporting that accurately shows how state money is being spent.

BUSINESS

Business regulations

With the growing number of women in entrepreneurial enterprises, we support efforts to create environments conducive and friendly to small business.

Insurance costs

Unreasonably high insurance costs are an unnecessary burden on small business and entrepreneurial enterprises that struggle to attract quality employees.

• We ask our elected officials to recognize that as competition declines, the cost of insurance rises rapidly.

• We ask our elected officials to consider that, according to a recent study, for every percentage point that premiums increase, 300,000 people lose their coverage.

• We advocate that initiatives be introduced to encourage competition in the insurance industry.

• To increase competition we support the removal of mandates that prohibit insurance companies from being able to determine risk factors weighed against supply and demand.

CRIME AND SAFETY

Personal safety

Women and children have the right to live and work in non-threatening environments.

• We support initiatives to educate women and children about their self-defense options.

• We advocate that our state elected officials expand rather than limit our options for protecting our families and ourselves.

Sentencing issues

Severe sentencing guidelines send a clear message to criminals: in Kansas, we don’t forgive violent and sexual crimes against women and children.

• We support increasing the minimum and maximum terms, as outlined in the sentencing guidelines, for violent and sexual offenders, especially in the case of crimes against children.

• We advocate that parole officers be required to inform employers of the violent nature of a parolee’s crime so that proper precautions can be taken regarding the potential danger to employees and others.

Financing for prisons

A primary role of government is to protect law-abiding citizens from damage to person or property by known criminals. But irresponsible budgeting and duplicated spending can lead to a budget crisis and insufficient funding for the criminal justice system.

• We believe that it is never acceptable to barter with the safety of women, children, or any law-abiding citizen.

• To ensure public safety, the state budget must fund sufficient prison space to accommodate vicious, deviant lawbreakers.